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All Music Guide:
Bassist Larry Gray's impressive skills and uncommon versatility are aptly displayed on Appassionata by the Ramsey Lewis Trio released in the fall of 1999 by the Milwaukee, WI-based Narada Jazz label. One of Chicago's leading musicians, Gray was the house bassist for the city's premier jazz room, the Jazz Showcase. He has shared the stage with such jazz legends as Clark Terry, Joe Henderson, and Bobby Hutcherson, among others. Gray has performed at jazz festivals and clubs all over the world: The Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Montreaux Detroit Festival, and the Chicago Jazz Festival. Gray has studied drums, guitar, flute, guitar, and piano while earning bachelor's and master's degrees in violoncello performance. Listen to "Nessun Dorma," a duet between Lewis' lush, romantic trills and the melancholy bow strokes of Gray on Appassionata. The musician has performed as a solo recitalist at various universities such as Northern Illinois University, Roosevelt University, and DePaul University where he is a member of the esteemed jazz faculty. Gray's versatility has lead to him being on the A-list of first-call session players, with track dates with a wide range of artists: former Styx member Dennis DeYoung, Willie Pickens, Buddy Childers, and Ira Sullivan, among others.
Wikipedia:
Larry Gray is a Chicago musician known for his compositions and skill on the Double Bass and Cello. His primary teachers were Joseph Guastafeste, longtime principal bassist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and cellist Karl Fruh, a highly regarded soloist and teacher.
Family
Gray has been married to Karolyn R. Kuehner since 1990. Their daughter, Soffia H. Kuehner Gray, was born in 1994.
Music Style
Bassist Larry Gray demonstrates an impressive versatility and an uncommon musical curiosity. Originally a jazz guitarist, Gray switched to the double bass and quickly developed a reputation as a first-call sideman. Within a short time, he began to work at Chicago's premier jazz club, the Jazz Showcase, where he appeared with increasing frequency, often with drummer Wilbur Campbell and pianist Willie Pickens. Throughout the years he has worked with such jazz greats as George Coleman, Lee Konitz, Bobby Hutcherson, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Fortune, Ira Sullivan, Junior Mance, David "Fathead" Newman, Charles McPherson, Branford Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jackie McLean, Sonny Stitt, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Al Cohn, Eddie Harris and Les McCann. In addition, he has collaborated with guitarists Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, and Tal Farlow, as well as the drummers Ed Thigpen and Jack DeJohnette, and trumpeters Donald Byrd and Harry "Sweets" Edison, among others.
Gray has studied classical music extensively. His principal teachers were Joseph Guastafeste, longtime principal bassist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and cellist Karl Fruh, a highly regarded soloist and teacher. Under Mr. Fruh's guidance, he received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Cello Performance from Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University.
Touring
He tours extensively, performing at jazz festivals and clubs, including the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, The Montreaux Detroit Festival, the ECM Festival, the Poznan Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, the Havana Jazz Festival, Rio São Paulo Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Johannesburg International Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Hollywood Bowl, Village Vanguard, the Blue Notes in Tokyo, Nagoya, New York and Milan, Ronnie Scott's in London, Zawinal's Birdland in Vienna, and the Ravinia Festival, with such jazz luminaries as Marian McPartland, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, Frank Morgan, Roscoe Mitchell, James Moody, Larry Coryell, Louis Bellson, Barry Harris, Ramsey Lewis, Dorothy Donegan, Monty Alexander, Frank Wess, Joe Williams, Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band, and Kenny Drew Jr.
In the Studio
Gray is an arranger and composer whose discography includes Solo + Quartet on Premonition Records; Gravity, a solo bass recording and One Look, featuring his piano trio's performances of original compositions, both on Graywater Records; the Ramsey Lewis trio recordings Appassionata, Time Flies and With One Voice; the Ramsey Lewis and Nancy Wilson collaborations Meant to Be and Simple Pleasures; all on Narada/Virgin Records. Gray also arranged and produced the critically acclaimed CD, Django by Ferro. In addition, Gray's original composition for double bass and guitar, Five Movements, was commissioned and performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Symphony Center in Chicago. His newest work, Larry Gray 1,2,3 ... , featuring his guitar trio's performances of his original compositions, on Chicago Sessions Records, was released in December 2008.
Gray has recorded with Ramsey Lewis, Nancy Wilson, Curtis Fuller, Ira Sullivan, Lin Halliday, Jodie Christian, Willie Pickens, Nicholas Payton, Randy Brecker, Bunky Green, Bob Moses, Irish musicians Larry Nugent, John Williams and Bohola, pop sensations Linda Eder, Dennis DeYoung, Jim Peterik and Peter Cetera, and songwriter Michael Smith, among others. In addition, Gray can be seen on multiple episodes of the PBS series hosted by Ramsey Lewis, Legends of Jazz. He is a first-call studio musician, and his playing can also be heard on many commercial radio and television jingle and studio projects. Gray has been featured as a solo recitalist on both bass and cello at various universities and venues throughout the midwest. His recitals are unique in their eclecticism, combining jazz, modern improvised music, and European classical repertoire. He was also the featured bassist in Amistad, produced by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In addition to his work with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he was principal bass of Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and has served as a substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gray recently collaborated with choreographer Lauri Stallings and dancers from Hubbard Street Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet, developing an original work for solo double bass and dancers.
Teaching
Gray is a dedicated teacher. In 2007 he joined the full time jazz faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where he is Assistant Professor of Double Bass in Jazz. He previously held positions at DePaul University, where he taught for nineteen years, and also at Northern Illinois University and the American Conservatory of Music. A dedicated educator, he remains active as a clinician at high school and college jazz festivals.